Washington – Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten today issued the following statement on President Biden’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget proposal:
“While there is much to consider and analyze in the Administration’s just-released FY 2024 budget, one element stands out: a more than $3 trillion tax increase on America’s job creators. Business Roundtable strongly opposes this proposal. We cannot build a stronger, fairer American economy through tax hikes that make us less competitive and send jobs overseas.
“Raising the corporate rate to 28% would make the United States’ rate the second highest among the 38 developed economies. This increase would give corporate America a higher tax burden than before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, a time when thousands of American businesses were moving overseas in search of a more competitive tax rate. The proposed changes to taxes on international earnings would make the situation worse, putting American businesses at an even greater disadvantage to our biggest foreign competitors. America will not win the competition with China, or with any international competitor, if the government is driving our businesses overseas by over-taxing.
“TCJA has been successful. Contrary to claims that TCJA would result in corporations paying less in taxes, federal corporate tax revenues hit a record high in 2022. Last year’s $425 billion in corporate tax receipts was 43% higher than the $297 billion collected in 2017; the year before TCJA was signed into law. TCJA leveled the playing field for American businesses and workers, stopped companies from relocating overseas and helped return $2.1 trillion in international earnings. Rather than significantly increasing taxes on American businesses, the Administration should work with Congress to maintain and strengthen TCJA.
“We agree with the Administration on the importance of addressing growing deficits and debt. However, attempting to solve the problem by raising taxes on American job creators is counterproductive. We encourage the White House and Congress to find a bipartisan solution that puts the country on a more sustainable fiscal trajectory without compromising our competitive tax system.”